MINNEAPOLIS – UFC President Dana White said he was willing to pay an “astronomical amount of money” to bail Jeremy Stephens (20-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) out Minneapolis’ Hennepin County Public Safety Facility in time to compete at Friday’s UFC on FX 5 event.

Stephens was arrested by the Minneapolis Police Department hours before the event for warrants stemming from a 2011 incident in Iowa for which the lightweight was charged with assault.

While many wondered why White was seemingly jumping through hoops to take care of the incarcerated fighter, the UFC boss said the reason was simple: Stephens insists he is innocent, and White has no reason not to believe him.

“We heard about this thing a long time ago,” White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “Jeremy Stephens’ side of the story is that he never hit the guy. It wasn’t him. It was one of his friends, and they were all together, and he hit the guy. The guys were accusing him of hitting the guy because they’re trying to get money out of him. Because he’s a UFC guy, they think they can make money off of him or whatever. That’s his side of the story, and I like Jeremy Stephens. He’s a good kid. I’ve known him for years, and if that’s what he tells me, I take grown men for their word.

“These guys, they’re in business with me, and if that’s what he tells me the story is, am I going to call him a liar?”

Stephens was expected to face Yves Edwards (41-18-1 MMA, 9-6 UFC) on the FUEL TV-broadcast preliminary card of UFC on FX 5, which took place at Minneapolis’ Target Center. However, he was arrested Friday morning at the Marriott City Center Hotel, which was the past week’s UFC host hotel.

White said he was immediately alerted of the development and contacted the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office to seek out a resolution. Stephens was initially held without bail, but White said law enforcement officials in Iowa were willing to discuss possible deals.

“I was willing to have two police officers – armed police officers – bring him from jail to come fight tonight and then bring him back to jail,” White said. “Let the kid get paid because he’s going to have to spend money on this thing anyway. He has a family to take care of.”

White, who during the night’s preliminary insisted in a televised interview that Stephens would still compete, believed a deal had been reached. However, he said the terms of the deal changed multiple times throughout the afternoon and evening, and it ultimately proved impossible to have Stephens released.

“There were two charges,” White said. “One was $1,000 bail. The other was $20,000. That’s where we started. Where we ended was f—— insane. I could have gotten (Charles) Manson out for what they wanted me to pay for him.

“It’s just crazy. I’ve seen crazier s— than this before. Floyd Mayweather got to decide when he went to jail. You know what I mean? But this kid on an assault charge couldn’t come out and fight today when he would have gone back to jail. I would have bailed him out. I would have flown him to Des Moines, Iowa, to face the charges down there. I was willing to do anything, and they dragged me out played games with me all day. That’s why I’m so pissed.”

White said his primary motivation for pushing for Stephens to compete was simple: He knows the 26-year-old will be in desperate need of the money he could have earned by fighting.

“You know what losing this purse means to a kid like Jeremy Stephens?” White asked. “It’s a huge blow. This is how these kids make a living. This is how they feed their families. He spent money to get to this fight – money he probably didn’t have. Now he’s really screwed because the fight didn’t happen.”

As of Friday night, Stephens was still incarcerated in Minnesota and was expected to be extradited to Iowa to face charges. White said he anticipates a difficult time for Stephens after his own dealings with Iowa officials throughout the day.

“People that have gone on three-state killing sprees get freaking bailed out of jail,” White said. “This kid has an assault charge in Des Moines, Iowa, and he is not going to have fun when he gets there because they have got it out for this kid, big time.”

So after a hectic day full of negotiations that ultimately proved fruitless, he’ll now allow the legal system to take over. But he’s standing by his fighter, who he insists is innocent until proven guilty.

“I hate seeing stuff like this happen to the guys,” White said. “And yeah, there’s no doubt he’s responsible for the situation, but again, he’s got a completely different story. We all have different stories when we’re in trouble, but I was trying to help him.

“I’m taking his word for it. Man to man, that’s what he says, and I’m going to take his word for it. I believe him.”

For complete coverage of UFC on FX 5, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.
(Pictured: Dana White)

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